258 Veterans From All Parties Head to the Midterms
Veterans on the ballot: up 21% from 2024, with women veterans running in record numbers, up 81%.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The service wave that swept this year’s primaries has carried into the general election. On the eve of the 2026 midterms, 258 military veterans are on the ballot for Congress, up from 213 in 2024, according to new data from With Honor Action. Women veterans are a growing part of that wave, with 38 on the ballot, up from 21 two years ago, comprising 21 Democrats, eight Republicans, and nine independents or third-party candidates.
The wave first showed its size in the primaries. By June, With Honor Action had tracked 752 veterans running for Congress, a 47% increase over 2024 and the highest number of veteran candidates recorded since the organization began tracking in 2018. Of the 258 who made it to the general election:
- 227 are running for the House and 31 for the Senate.
- 115 are Republicans, 80 are Democrats, and 63 are independents or third-party candidates.
- 67 are incumbent members of Congress running for reelection — 62 in the House and 5 in the Senate — including 48 Republicans and 19 Democrats.
- The other 191 are challengers or running for open seats, and among them, the parties are nearly even: 67 Republicans, 61 Democrats, and 63 independents or third-party candidates.
The rise of women veterans began in the primaries, where at least 95 ran for Congress, up from 40 in 2024, a surge reported on by Politico using With Honor data in June. Women now make up 15% of total veteran candidates in the general election, up from 10% two years ago. The current Congress swore in nine women veterans, the most ever to serve at one time, according to Roll Call. That number fell to eight when Mikie Sherrill left the House to become governor of New Jersey, the first woman veteran elected governor of any U.S. state.
“Every one of these candidates has already sworn an oath to the Constitution,” said Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor. “Now they’re asking voters to let them keep serving. More of them are women, and they come from across the political spectrum. What they share is the habit of putting the mission first. Congress needs more of it.”
Barcott is the author of Courage Can Save US, which profiles ten elected leaders, five Democrats and five Republicans, nine of them veterans and one a former FBI agent, who have each taken With Honor’s pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage, including the courage to work across party lines.
They will meet an electorate inclined to trust them. In research released in July by With Honor and Gallup, 77% of Americans said they would trust a person with military experience to perform well as an elected official, including 91% of Republicans, 73% of independents, and 70% of Democrats.
“Americans trust veterans across party lines because that trust was earned in service,” Barcott said. “Keeping that trust once in office means putting country over party and refusing to treat the other side as the enemy. That’s the test for whoever wins on Tuesday, and every day after.”
With Honor Action tracks veteran candidates through Federal Election Commission filings, candidate databases, campaign materials, and news reports to confirm both candidacy and military service. Figures are current as of Oct. 28, 2026.
Veterans hold roughly one in five seats in Congress today, down from roughly three in four in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Of the 96 veterans currently serving in Congress (excluding non-voting delegates), one, Rep. Barry Moore, is running for Senate, and 28 are not on a congressional ballot — senators not up this cycle and members retiring or seeking other non-federal office. With Honor Action will release a post-election count of veterans elected to the 120th Congress. Barcott is available for interviews through next week; contact Susan Forbes at [email protected].
About With Honor
With Honor Action fights polarization in Congress by supporting principled veterans across party lines who pledge to serve with integrity, civility, and courage. With Honor Action works alongside the bipartisan For Country Caucus in Congress to pass critical legislation for our nation. With Honor Action is a 501(c)(4), which serves as the organization’s policy and social-welfare arm. With Honor has an affiliated federally registered “super PAC” called With Honor Fund III. Learn more about our work at WithHonor.org.
CONTACT: Susan Forbes, [email protected]
SOURCE With Honor Action
